In the past, roofing surfaces have been coated with cutback asphalt or asphaltic primer compositions containing undesirably high levels of VOC above 340 g/liter. The evaporation of these volatiles, e.g. naphthas, kerosene, lower paraffins etc. at normal climate temperatures, diminishes the coating stability, surface adhesion and roof deck resistance to deterioration under atmospheric conditions and may also create worker health hazards due to vaporization of volatile materials during installation. Several methods and cutback compositions have been proposed for the purpose of reducing the VOC content; however, these have been unable to attain the desired 200 g/liter maximum of VOC concentration or are associated with other problems, such as extended cure time which interrupts work on the installation of a roof.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a completely stable cutback asphalt primer composition having a maximum VOC concentration of 200 g/l or less and a cure time of not more than a few minutes.
Another object is to provide a solvent for cutback asphalts having a flash point above 100° F.
Still another object is to provide a liquid cutback asphalt primer having properties well within current needs and specifications.
These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description and disclosure.